You are here: Home/ U.S. fertility rate continues to decline, reaching lowest level in 40 years

U.S. fertility rate continues to decline, reaching lowest level in 40 years

· January 11, 2019 ·

American women are having fewer and fewer babies, according to a report released Thursday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The national total fertility rate — an estimate of how many babies the average woman in the U.S. will have — was 1.765 (1,765 births per 1,000 women) in 2017, the report says. That’s a drop from 1.820 in 2016, and continues a 10-year downward trend. It’s also the lowest rate since 1978. The U.S. fertility rate is now 16 percent below the rate — 2.100 — that experts say is needed for the country’s population to replace itself over time without immigration. Only two states, South Dakota and Utah, had fertility rates above that replacement level in 2017, according to the CDC report. South Dakota had the highest fertility rate (2.227) in 2017, and the District of Columbia had the lowest (1.421) — a difference of 57 percent. Minnesota’s fertility rate in 2017 was 1.872 — above the national rate, but below the replacement one. Racial and ethnic trends For the report, CDC researchers looked at 2017 birth certificate data from all 50 states and the District of Columbia. The certificates included self-reported information on the mother’s… Read full this story

U.S. fertility rate continues to decline, reaching lowest level in 40 years have 336 words, post on www.minnpost.com at January 11, 2019. This is cached page on Law Breaking News. If you want remove this page, please contact us.